by Ben Cass
Kira shook her head. “That would be nice, but normal hormones are not the cause. Your body is Changing. I noticed you have eaten more food than my brother has since I have met you, but I assumed this to be normal for you. However, it can also be a sign of a Changing. Being around Alistair probably triggered it somehow.”
“Just by being around him?” Ellie asked. “How?”
“You are the child of a world with magic, born in a world without. That is the root cause of a Changing. Most people who experience a Changing do so when they visit our world for the first time, exposing themselves to the magic there. Tayamu are the living avatars of Nature itself, the very embodiment of our world’s magic. When you met Alistair, your body was exposed to the magic of our world for the first time. Now, it is finally about to finish growing.”
“Finish growing?” Ellie asked, at the same time as Jen said, “Wait a minute. I’m from your world, too, but I didn’t have any problems here.”
“Our world, Jeniah. You had no problems because you did not grow up here. Your body had already finished puberty before you ever arrived in this world, save for the typical adjustments that come as your adult years increase.”
Jen nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.” Jen looked down at Ellie, whose expression was hovering between horror and interest. “You okay?”
“I’m still stuck on the word finish. So, this...” she patted her now-thicker torso, “is going to keep going?”
“Well, not necessarily those parts of your body. I suspect there will be some more adjustments though, yes. I think you will continue to fill out in your arms and legs, and possibly gain even more height.”
More height? Ellie chewed her lip. “How long will this all last?” She directed the question at Kira, who shrugged helplessly.
“I have no way of knowing for sure. I have heard of people who took several months to readjust, with small episodes from time to time.”
“That’s not so bad,” Ellie commented, rubbing her chin with a fingertip. “I could deal.” She recalled her shower and shook her head. “Then again, if this was small, maybe not.”
Ellie didn’t like how Kira studied her body before saying, “There have also been others who took only days.”
“Days?” Terror surged in Ellie, and Jen laid a reassuring hand on her arm. “Isn’t that physically impossible?”
Kira shook her head, wisps of hair falling over her face. She brushed them back. “You can answer that for yourself. Just look down.” Ellie did and grimaced. “It is most definitely not impossible in a world of magic. This property has a dimensional rift with Kiamada. It is possible the rift is affecting you.”
“Dimensional rift?” Jen asked. “What are you talking about?”
Kira sighed. “Alistair, you really need to stop this ridiculous nonsense of keeping things from people!”
Ellie wasn’t sure why Kira was scolding the air. Besides, hadn’t Kira just defended him to Jen by saying it was a Tayamu thing to keep secrets? She posed this question to Kira, who nodded.
“I am aware of what I said, Elowyn, but that does not mean I do not share your frustrations with it. I have lived with it for a large portion of my life, but I did not like it then, and I do not like it now. He did not tell me about your heritage. I figured it out when I saw you in the shower just now. Had I known your parents were from Kiamada, I would have agreed with his assessment of your cramps, and made him tell both of you sooner.”
Kira reached out and took Ellie’s hand in hers. “I just ask you to let Alistair know when the pain begins again. He is the only one of us who can help you through it, physically speaking. Your sister and I can support you emotionally and mentally, but Alistair will have to provide the physical support. You have no cause to be embarrassed.”
“Oh, not at all,” Ellie muttered darkly. “It’ll be like, ‘Oh, hey, Doyle, I’ve gained three inches in the last five minutes, my legs are sore, my arms are longer, my uterus is screaming, and the girls, Bada and Boom, are hurting, too. Can you fix all that? M’kay, thanks!‘” She shook her head. “I can think of a few hundred things I’d rather do.”
“Does this happen often?” Jen asked, ignoring Ellie’s rant. “Somebody from your world being raised in this one and then Changing, I mean.”
Kira smiled gently and reminded her again, “Somebody from our world, Jeniah.” Jen’s mouth twisted wryly.
“It’ll take a while to get used to that, I think,” she admitted, shaking her head.
Kira nodded. “You will adjust soon enough. To answer your question, I would not call it often, but from my teenage years, I can think of three different people. If you consider that to be frequent, then the answer is yes. It was not completely agonizing for them, but they definitely did not enjoy the experience.” She sounded way too nonchalant for Ellie’s taste.
Ellie groaned, throwing her face into her hands. “And I thought PMS was bad.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The events of the long night took their toll on everyone, as the house was silent when Jen woke up around eight in the morning. She had foregone her plan to sleep in the barn with Doyle, opting instead to remain with Ellie in case of another episode. Fortunately, Ellie had slept through the night with not even a hint of trouble, and so Jen had been able to get some rest too, but not until some reassuring thoughts from Theonus made their way into her head. He had promised her he could monitor Ellie even while unconscious and at any sign of trouble, he would notify Jen and Doyle. She’d managed to get a few hours of fitful slumber, but not nearly enough.
As Jen stretched, trying not to wake Ellie, she thought back to her short conversation with the Wiler. She found herself wondering exactly how far his telepathic range was, and whether he could read her mind whenever he wanted to. She made a mental note to ask him and then paused, waiting to see if he would suddenly pop into her mind. When nothing happened, she eased out of bed and tiptoed softly to the bathroom.
Jen headed downstairs a few minutes later, having decided to brew some coffee, but discovered somebody had beaten her to it. The smell wafted up to her, accompanied by another scent. She couldn’t quite identify it.
Stepping off the last stair, Jen turned and entered the kitchen. There, on the counter, she saw the freshly-brewed coffee next to a teapot. She sniffed the tea, finding it to be the unknown smell. Glancing out through the door, she saw Kira’s husband sitting out on the patio, stretched out in a wicker chair next to the small table that sat across from the porch swing, looking out into the woods behind the house.
After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she carried it to the door, opening it softly. Jerry looked up at the soft click of the latch. “Morning,” he greeted her, smiling brightly. His dark skin stood out against the white mug he held in his hand. Jen noticed he had tattoos up and down both arms; she hadn’t seen them last night, because he’d been wearing long sleeves. She couldn’t quite make out what the designs were, because his skin was very dark, and the ink didn’t stand out enough. Jen didn’t want to stare, so she gave up trying to figure out what the tattoos were.
Jerry was wearing pajama pants with some sports team on it—Jen didn’t follow sports, so she had no idea which team it was—and a bright white t-shirt. Glancing down, she saw giant fuzzy green dinosaur slippers on his feet. Following her glance, he chuckled.
“They roar when I walk or bounce them just right,” he explained. “I got them because that’s too awesome to not have and because they drive Kira crazy. Here, take a seat.” He pulled out the chair next to him and Jen sat, murmuring a word of thanks.
Jerry looked at her. “So how’s your sister doing? Sorry, I meant stepsister. I keep forgetting.”
“So do we, honestly. We use the terms interchangeably, even in our thoughts. I know we’re technically not step, but we just like how it sounds.” She took a sip of coffee and swallowed. “She seems to be doing okay. Slept through the night just fine.”
“Kira told me what’s going on,”
Jerry explained. “I hope that’s not a problem. She thought I should know, so if I happen to be with Ellie when something happens, I won’t be taken by surprise.”
“It’s not a problem at all,” Jen assured him. “Well, not for me, anyway.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know how excited Ellie would be at the thought of you knowing.”
“Perhaps, but what she doesn’t know can’t get me into trouble, right?” Jerry raised his mug and gave a conspiratorial wink. Jen clinked her mug against his and they both sipped some coffee.
“I just realized I don’t even know your last name,” Jen blurted out. “I hadn’t even thought to ask Kira.”
“It’s Vogel,” supplied Jerry. “Jerry Vogel, of the Ohio Vogels.” He paused, thinking. “Vogelses? Whatever.” He gave a shrug and a disarming grin.
Jen found herself at ease around this man. Something about him just encouraged you to relax. She wondered again exactly what he had done to make Doyle so angry, but couldn’t think of a tactful way to ask, so she settled instead for small talk. Maybe they would get there the long way.
“So, Jerry Vogel, tell me about yourself. I only know what little Kira told me, which is basically that you two fell in love at first sight.”
Jerry drank some more coffee. “Pretty much, yeah. I still can’t believe it, sometimes.” He gave a yawn, covering his mouth. “Excuse me. First time I’ve slept this late in a while.”
“Work keeps you busy, huh?” Jen drank more of her coffee.
“It comes and goes. I’m a private detective, so I can go weeks in between cases.”
Jen cupped her mug with both hands, allowing the warmth to seep into her fingers. “Really? An actual private detective. How intriguing.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes. Sometimes not. All depends on the case. Last one involved the runaway teenage son of a very wealthy man in our area. Only took me a couple of days to find the kid, but those were two long, harrowing days. The previous case was surveilling a man suspected of cheating on his wife. That was dull.”
“How long have you been doing it?” Jen asked, sipping her coffee.
“Not too long. A few years now. I was a cop for a little while before that, but I got shot during a routine traffic stop and said, ‘To hell with this,’ which made my wife happy.” Jerry stretched his legs out. “Now, I work on finding missing people, uncovering lost or stolen property, so on and so forth. I still work with the police as a consultant from time to time, but I make it a point to not do anything that might land me in the line of fire again.”
“Good choice,” said Jen. “I’ll bet that keeps Kira happy.”
“That it does,” agreed Jerry. “Doyle may be fierce as hell, but his sister is the truly frightening one. I’d rather fight him than her, I’ll tell you that.”
“The female of the species is deadlier than the male,” said Jen calmly, winking at him. He raised his mug to her and took a sip. “So....”
“So you want to know why your boyfriend would love nothing better than to maim me, right?”
Jen felt a rush of heat in her ears and neck. “Well, I, uh...” Jerry waved a hand.
“I was wondering why you didn’t ask that first. It’s obviously not a secret he would love to get rid of me.”
“Well, Kira told me you weren’t always the best person, whatever that means, you had been immature, and Doyle was angry about her not being there when her parents died.”
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Kira can certainly turn a phrase. No, I wasn’t the best person. Hell, I was what you could call a first-rate asshole.”
“You?” Jen had trouble believing it. “Sure that’s not Doyle talking?”
Jerry grimaced. “No, that’s me admitting to it. I suppose lots of people can look back at their childhood and wonder, ‘How in the hell could I be such a damn idiot?’ I’m not proud of it, that’s for sure.” He drained the rest of the mug. “Let me grab some more. Top it off for you?” He gestured to her mug.
“Sure. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Jerry rose and walked inside, and tiny roars came from his slippers as his feet hit the ground. Jen choked off a laugh, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she smiled; they were really adorable. He came back outside a few moments later. He handed Jen her mug and settled himself back down, crossing his legs at the knees.
“Where was I? Oh, right: my stupid years. Well, in a nutshell, I was like many other angry young men in our country. I was trying to prove what a tough guy I was. I even joined a gang.” He ran his left hand along his right arm. “That’s where all the ink came from.”
“No need to defend tattoos,” Jen said. “I have one myself.” She reached her hand back and lightly patted her shoulder. “I got it after my step-parents died. I have a heart on my shoulder with their initials, my initials, and Ellie’s initials. They treated me like I was their own daughter, and I wanted to honor the family we built together.”
Jerry smiled at her. “That’s sweet. We had to get tatted to prove how tough we were. I eventually got those tattoos covered up with new ones.” He sipped some more coffee. “We were just a bunch of damned idiots trying to convince people how bad and tough we were. We eventually got disabused of that notion faster than you can blink an eye.”
He took a sip of coffee, looking out at the forest acres away. “We didn’t really do much of anything, you see. Yeah, we talked a lot of shit and we got into stupid fights, but we never really did anything criminal.”
“Sounds about right for kids trying to be tough,” Jen agreed.
“It’s not like I had a bad family or anything,” Jerry said, tapping his fingers against his mug. “My parents were solid middle-class. Dad taught history, and Mom was a nurse. They were killed by a drunk driver when I was eight, and my grandparents took me in. We lived in a good neighborhood.”
Jen leaned forward. “Why the gang, then?”
He gave a slight shrug. “I had a really hard time dealing with my parents’ deaths. By thirteen, I was angry at God or the universe or the All; whatever you want to call it, I blamed it for my life. The guys in the gang took me in, became my brothers. We were a mix of races and backgrounds. Some came from poor families in the ghetto, some came from rich families in gated communities. We all hated something about our lives, though, which is what brought us together.” He sipped some coffee. “Looking back, I see what a bunch of asses we really were. Beating up kids for lunch money, bullying people just because we outnumbered them...man. Bunch of screwed-up assholes.” He shook his head, clearly embarrassed.
“So what changed?”
“Kira.” His smile lit his whole face up. “I was eating at a small diner. I’m sure you know the type: one of those hole-in-the-wall places that looks like it should be a health hazard, but actually has some of the best food you can buy. She walked inside to order a snack and get directions. Our eyes met and I felt something I’d never felt before. I just had to talk to her, so I got up, walked over, and introduced myself.”
“That must have been terrifying.”
He laughed, his baritone voice echoing in the still air. “Damn near pissed my pants from nerves. She was clearly not the kind of girl I’d ever seen around the city before. There was something different about her, and I’m not talking about her height. She carried herself like she was somebody important, but talked to me like I was her equal.”
He scratched his neck. “Anyway, she said she’d be in town for a while, so I asked if I could see her sometime. We went out the next three nights. We were a couple by the end of the week.” He grinned. “We got married shortly after.”
“You don’t waste time,” observed Jen.
“Why waste time when you get it right?” he countered, still grinning. “At least I got that right. I still was playing the tough guy part for my boys, who didn’t understand why I’d gotten married. I guess I was supposed to just have a different girl every week or something. So, whenever I was around them, I would talk about Kira lik
e she was beneath me and not my equal.” He closed his eyes.
Jen groaned softly. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.” Jerry covered his face with his hand. He sat quietly for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and continuing. “Kira and I were hanging out with my buddies one night. She didn’t want to be there, and never went to hang out with them, but I convinced her to go this time. As soon as we arrived, I started treating her the same way the guys treated their girls. Calling her...well, things a man should never call a woman. Treating her like a servant, telling her to fetch me a beer and stupid shit like that.”
His voice caught, but he carried on. “When she told me to watch my language and stop acting like an idiot, I couldn’t let my boys see that, so I yelled out, ‘Bitch, watch your tone!’”
“And she just took that from you?” Jen asked, surprised. Sure doesn’t sound like Kira!
“Hell, no, she didn’t,” Jerry said, grinning. “She damn near slapped my freaking face off. Had tears in my eyes and everything. I looked up at her and called her some inappropriate words, and she tried again. I grabbed her hands so she couldn’t hit me, and that’s when the shit hit the fan.”
“Doyle?” guessed Jen, eyes wide. Jerry nodded.
“Doyle,” he confirmed. “As luck would have it, at that exact moment he’d found her. Anyway, he burst through the wall like the damn Kool-Aid Man riding on a tornado.” Jerry paused. “Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if he actually created a tornado? That’s something Tayamu can do, isn’t it? It felt like the hand of God ripped the wall off and threw us all around.” He shook his head. “Whatever happened, he came through the wall, and when his gaze locked onto mine, with my hands holding tightly to hers, and Kira looking pissed off...well, I saw my death reflected in his eyes.”
Jerry paused to sip some coffee. Jen had forgotten about hers, but hurriedly drank some, keeping her eyes on Jerry. He was clearly embarrassed, but he swallowed and carried on with his story. “He somehow crossed thirty feet of space before I could blink. Never saw him move; he was just suddenly there. He didn’t say a word, and he didn’t need to. He just punched once and I was done. Knocked me up into the air, like you’d see in a cartoon. The rest of the fight, if you can call it that, is kind of fuzzy, but I swear he took out my entire gang in about thirty seconds. My memories are pretty hazy, but I would swear I saw him popping in and out of the air, disappearing and reappearing, arms and legs blurring like crazy. All I know for sure is the other nine guys all ended up unconscious, broken to bits and bleeding everywhere, and I know it didn’t take very long. Kira’s never told me exactly what happened, and I’m kind of glad she didn’t. That was the turning point in my life.”
